Posted by Tony P on January 19, 2018, at 22:55:28
In reply to Re: L-glutamine helped me with anxiety! » Tony P, posted by MightyKondrian on January 19, 2018, at 13:24:59
Not all carbs are created equal! Do you know about the Glycemic Index (see Wikipedia)? We've known for decades that complex carbs were better than sugars. This takes it a stage further and gives a measuring tool for how fast complex carbs get digested and converted to glucose. It turns out that staples like most white rice, favourites like white bread and baked potato, and convenience foods like 2-minute MW rice & Ramen noodles are terrible; they're digested into glucose almost as fast as sugar is. Beans, peanuts and unmilled whole grains are amongst the best (low-G.I.) foods; boiled potatoes, whole-wheat & multigrain bread, and so on are intermediate. It is becoming clear that the growing problem of obesity in developed countries has much more to do with increased consumption of foods with a high G.I., particularly precooked instant foods, than the amount of fat. Not that a high fat diet doesn't have its own problems, but fat is less likely to lead to obesity, however counter-intuitive that may seem.
I love high protein meals, and they're filling and satisfying too. But as a biochemist I know that your body can only use as much protein in 24 hr. as is needed to replace damaged tissue, provide for growth in children, and a tiny amount for polypeptides like insulin and other secretions. Unless you're bodybuilding or ditch-digging, an average adult only needs 30 g./ 1 ounce of pure, complete protein a day. That's like 3-4 oz. of most cheeses or lean meats to fill your entire protein requirement, quite apart from what you get from milk, eggs, beans, bread, peanut butter, potatoes & veggies... The rest, everything over that 1 oz. a day, is converted entirely into glucose! So eating mostly protein is good in slowing down the cravings and fat buildup, but bad in other ways; people who eat more veggies, fibre and plenty of low G.I. carbs live longer and get less cancer, Type 2 diabetes, and heart disease than those whose diet is high GI, high protein, and low fibre.
What does all this have to do with anxiety and depression? I must confess I don't know! My GP, very wholistic, emphasized diet when I was first diagnosed with depression and had me get an early book on the Glycemic Index. But we never got into real specifics about diet & depression, and now he's retired. Last time I saw him, he just said "Eat more veggies"! I would certainly like to learn more. I apologize if I was sounding off like a know-it-all earlier; really, I know a few things about nutrition & metabolism, but very little that's practical about how to deal with my disease other than with drugs & conventional therapy. I should lurk on this board more often, instead of just the Medical board, which hooks my pill-popping addict!
My Meds
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Escitalopram 20 mg
Bupropion XR 75 mg
Diazepam 5 mg tid - weaning
Propranolol 20 mg tid
Robaxin - non-prescribed; weaning
Kava - non-Rx, prn
poster:Tony P
thread:403538
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20160521/msgs/1096661.html